Email No. Two
Dear Kerry, Thank you for sending me these interesting proposals, and for presenting them in such a professional way. Your ideas have a lot in common with Devon County Council's Devon Metro proposals. Apologies for the delay in replying, but I wanted to comment in detail on the different elements of your scheme. As you say, it makes sense to base the concept around Exeter’s already extensive rail network. We are fortunate that so much of this system has survived, with eight stations within the city boundary, which will rise to ten with the completion of Newcourt shortly, and Marsh Barton in a few years’ time. Of course there is also Cranbrook which is outside the city boundary, but will provide residents of the new town with a fast and convenient link to the city centre. You are right to identify the need for a larger fleet of more modern DMUs. Of the current mixed fleet, the Class 150/2s are the most suitable for the branches out of Exeter, particularly those to Exmouth and Paignton with frequent stops. These units benefit from a metro-style door arrangement (that is, part way along the carriages rather than at the ends), and gangways at the end of each set. They are however very old and we would wish to see significant refurbishment if they were to be retained beyond the next few years. In around 2016/2017 many Class 165s and 166s will be released by electrification of the Thames Valley lines, and the intention seems to be that they will be retained on the Great Western for use further west; certainly Bristol and maybe Exeter. These were built as wide-bodied units to take advantage of greater clearance on Brunel’s previously broad gauge lines, but Network Rail’s future plans include work to accommodate these trains on lines in the south west, including the ex-Southern Railway lines. I would like to see these units on services through Exeter; despite being only ten years newer than the 150s they feel much more modern, although they do not have gangway connections at each end. Cascaded DMUs from other electrification programmes are unlikely to reach the south west because their existing operators are likely to want to hold on to them to provide additional capacity on their remaining diesel services. Incidentally, there is a useful website showing the types of stock used by each operator at http://www.railfaneurope.net/list/uk.html (I think this is produced by an enthusiast rather than being an official site). No newbuild DMUs are being ordered nationally at present, nor does this appear likely in the near future. Any newbuild trains will have to comply with strict new emissions regulations, which is difficult to achieve within the body size of British rolling stock. There’s not much incentive for a manufacturer to design something suitable for the small British market, which will become even smaller as electrification progresses. Nevertheless I think that it is inevitable that new DMUs will be needed at some point, so this problem will need to be overcome. There are plans to gradually increase the frequency of local services in and out of Exeter. For a couple of years, the Sunday service on the Exmouth branch has been increased to half hourly in the run-up to Christmas and in summer. This is currently paid for by local authorities, but it is intended that in time it will become part of the franchised timetable. There is now a half hourly service operating between the peaks, from Newton Abbot to Paignton; this is funded using European money and again it is intended that it will become part of a regular half hourly service between Paignton and Exeter. Those two increased frequencies can be provided without any additional infrastructure; they do however need rolling stock and finance, which means that the DfT need to be persuaded to include them in the franchise specification. We'd also like to see a half hourly service between Exeter, Cranbrook and Axminster, although this needs another passing loop at Whimple or Feniton. In the longer term we would like to see the Exmouth service increased to every 15 minutes, but that would need two additional passing loops, one on each of the single track sections. It would also require some slick operation as we don't think there is another line in the country that operates at a 15 minute frequency over several single track sections. Your suggestion of a train every ten minutes is very ambitious, and indeed it is more frequent than the London Overground. Nevertheless, I think a 15 minute frequency would be game-changing and would still attract lots of people out of their cars. Turning back to the main line through Exeter, this doesn’t have the same constraints as the single track branches, but frequencies of local trains are restricted by the regular intercity trains which share the same track. Nevertheless, we have been pressing for a future franchise to include a stopping service between Bristol and Exeter (it already comes as far south as Taunton) which would open up the possibility of additional stations at places like Cullompton. So in summary, we are trying to work towards the kind of train service that you would like to see, although probably not as quickly as you would like, being restricted in particular by the lack of spare rolling stock and the expense of passing loops (and of additional services). Finally, I think you are right to refer to London Overground as an example of what we should aim for. Not only is that a really useful and efficient modern railway; it is also a piece of great marketing, showing what can be done by packaging improvements together under a distinctive brand name. As Devon Metro develops, it will be essential to get the branding and marketing right, to make it a really successful railway. Kind regards, Ross Hussey Principal Project Manager (Infrastructure Management and Delivery) City Development Exeter City Council Civic Centre, Paris St, Exeter, EX1 1NN Tel: 01392 265178 Fax: 01392 265431 Category:Emails